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NOBEL LAUREATES HONOUR AFGHAN RECIPIENT OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD Tuesday, 07 October 2008 20:04 BURMA We, six women Nobel Peace Laureates—, , , DA RFUR Rigoberta Menchu, Betty Williams and —are honoured to once again support the Reach All Women In War (RAW) A nna Politkovskaya Award . This award is 2008 BEIJING OLYMPICS presented each year to a woman human rights defender from an area of war and conflict, and keeps alive the spirit of Anna Politkovskaya: a woman activist and journalist DISARMA MENT from Russia whose courageous reports of atrocities against civilians in Chechyna led ultimately to her untimely death exactly two years ago.

MIDDLE EA ST Thankfully there are courageous women around WOMEN'S RIGHTS the world who, like Anna Politkovskaya, are willing to speak truth to power. Malalai EVENT NEWS Joya —the recipient of this year’s award—is one such GENERAL woman. The youngest-ever elected member of ARCHIVE ’s national parliament, Joya has bravely NWI NEWSLETTERS stood up for Afghanistan's citizens. Like Politkovskaya, her outspokenness has come NWI PHOTO GALLERY with a high price. She lives under a cloud of death threats, and on several occasions her opponents have even physically assaulted her. In spring of 2007, Joya was indefinitely suspended from Parliament for defending the rights of the email us Afghan people—this, despite the fact that women from across the country have rallied to her support . Joya continues to speak out for Afghan women, and against the NATO- Nobel Women's Initiative led mission in Afghanistan. 151 Slater Street, Suite 408 Ottawa, Ontario We commend this courage, and call for Joya’s reinstatement to Afghanistan’s national K1P 5H3 parliament. True democracy will come to Afghanistan when there is freedom of speech Canada and movement. Like our sister —who is still imprisoned in Burma for speaking out against the military junta—Joya is a model for women everywhere seeking Tel: +1 613 569 8400 to make the world more just. In her own words, "They will kill me but they will not kill my Fax: +1 613 563 0682 voice, because it will be the voice of all Afghan women. You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming of spring."

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In 2007, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire presented the A nna Politkovskaya Award to Natalia Estemirova. Read more here .

Click here to read more about Malalai Joya.

For more information about the Reach A ll Women In War (RA W) Anna Politkovskaya Award go to www.rawinwar.org .

Media Coverage:

Afghan woman rights campaigner wins courage award , Reuters India, 7 October 2008 http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/… 1/2 10/8/2008 Nobel Women’s Initiative - Nobel Laur… Bearing Witness: The Afghan Tragedy , The Nation, 7 October 2008.

Hom e Event News Nobel Laureates Honour Afghan recipient of International Human Rights Award

http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/… 2/2